“Still want to interrupt?”

Out of consideration of the noise level, he’d bent down to murmur the question directly in her ear, but between the breath fluttering along her skin and the sexy throb of his voice, Claire barely acknowledged it. Her breath tripped over itself when she exhaled, echoing the shiver that vibrated through her body. In the split second before her eyes squeezed shut -- a futile attempt to quell her sudden rush of desire -- she caught Seth’s head turning in their direction, his gaze locking on both of them.

Imagination was a wonderful thing. Because in the moments between catching Seth’s eye and finding the wherewithal to answer Simon, it allowed Claire to fantasize about the decadence of both men pressed to her, hands roaming over bare flesh, mouths busy tasting everywhere they could reach.

Simon jerked as if shocked. Without another word, he encircled her wrist in his large grip and hauled her away from the floor, his long stride forcing her to quicken her step to keep up. She had no time to ask questions when he pushed open the first door they reached, and then no capability as he whirled and scooped her into his arms, using her body to slam it shut again.

It was the first time she had been on the same level as Simon, the closest she had yet to get. At this proximity she could see the silvery flecks around his dilated pupils, how they made his green eyes gleam. His mouth was softer than she’d thought too, the faintest hint of stubble beginning to darken his chin. On impulse she leaned in and ran the tip of her tongue over its rough texture and was instantly rewarded with a definite tremor racking his body.

“Why did you do that?” His voice was as raspy as the skin she’d just tasted.

“Because I wanted to.”

A hint of his earlier smile came back. “Do you always take what you want?”

“You’re the one who dragged me in here.”

“Tell me to let you go and I will.”

He meant it too. She was beginning to believe there wasn’t an insincere bone in his body.

“You won’t get in trouble?”

“Celeste will never know.”

“But Seth saw us.”

The smile bloomed. “Who do you think gave me permission to touch you if I got the chance?”

Her eyes widened. She hadn’t considered they would’ve talked about her after she left, let alone thought about the dynamics of their relationship beyond that of coworkers. But Simon’s rhetorical question spoke volumes, massive tomes of information that cast this encounter in a new light.

Her problem was she didn’t know if that light shone on a more intimate relationship between the two men or illuminated Simon as a secondary player in Celeste’s seduction.

She needed to test the water of her theories and chose the one she hoped for to aim at first. “It’s almost a shame he’s not here,” she said.

“Would you want that?”

No hesitation. No hurt. Nothing to suggest he was threatened by her comment. “What would you do if he was?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether he’d join in or just watch.”

Both possibilities made her squirm. The tease in her prompted her to ask, “Which would you prefer?”

“I always want Seth.”

This might be the most unbelievable night of her life, but Claire didn’t care. Men didn’t practically throw themselves at her at first meeting. Later, sure, after a few dates and they got to know her better, but she wasn’t blind. She wasn’t the kind of woman to attract purely physical reactions. An opportunity like this was something to be grabbed on to with both hands. She wasn’t going to waste the experience or the chance to gain Simon as an ally with any more questions.